Tears of Responsibility
by okiegal2005
Summary: Elliot just wants his family back, but that isn't an easy road.
1. Part 1

**Part 1**

Elliot Stabler faced Manhattan's worst criminals day after day. He solved even the hardest cases. More than once, he found his life in danger – and every time it was spared due to either luck or his own quick thinking or strength. Somehow, he was able to keep going after seeing the most horrific crime scenes, and hearing victims – children – describe the terrible things that were done to them.

And yet he could not even bring himself to put pen to paper.

He had tried many times before. Each time he had a different strategy. If he wasn't trying to down scotch until any sense of loss escaped him, he sat down at a table and denied himself the privilege of getting up until the paper was signed. Nothing worked. If anything, the lengths he went to gather up whatever it was inside of him that would sign the papers, only served to cause him to put it off even longer.

He could do nothing else during his hesitation but think, and thinking meant remembering.

How many times had he been down this road? This time, he was at his apartment, with the papers sitting right in front of him. An unopened bottle of scotch and an empty glass were right next to them. The pen was in his hand, but he waited.

Knocks on the door brought him out of his reverie. He checked the time: 8 p.m. He hadn't been home more than an hour. Happy for the distraction, he opened the door, not caring who it was as long as it wasn't Kathy asking when he was going to finally sign. It wasn't.

"Kathleen."

His daughter stood at his door, her eyes focusing on the ground in front of her. After a few seconds, she mustered up the courage to face him, and said, "You were right."

He pulled her into the apartment and closed the door, divorce papers long forgotten. "I was right?" he asked, as Kathleen sat down on his couch, and he next to her.

She nodded, but wouldn't look him in the eye. "About Kevin," she said, her voice breaking.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, and gently cradled her chin, bringing her face to look at him. "What did he do to you?" he asked, both to her and as a rhetorical question to himself.

Kathleen was shaking. "We and a few friends went to Amy's house after school, just to hang out. Her parents were there, and Mom said it was okay because it's a Friday. We ended up watching a movie, and during the middle of it, he gets up and asks me if he could get me a drink. I told him ice water. But after he left I changed my mind. I went into the kitchen to tell him and he was…" she trailed off, tears freely flowing from her eyes. She could hardly say anymore.

Elliot bit his lip and brought Kathleen closer to him. "What was he doing, Sweetheart?" he whispered to her. "Was he putting something in your drink?"

Kathleen nodded, sniffling. "A couple of pills." Upon saying that, she nearly doubled over, but Elliot caught her before she fell.

"Kathleen," he said, going to hold her. She buried her face in his chest, grabbing his shirt at the sleeves to keep her upright. A well of emotions flooded through him. He didn't know what to say. He kissed the top of her head and held her close to him, promising himself that he would never let go again.

"Does your mom know?" he asked, after a few seconds of silence.

Kathleen shook her head. "I came right here," she said. "I thought he'd try to follow me if I went home."

Elliot closed his eyes and exhaled. "I'm going to have to call her."

He felt Kathleen's head nod in his chest. "Okay." Her voice was shaky, broken. He closed his eyes tightly and shook his head, trying hard not to think of what this son of a bitch would have done to her. He knew he should get up and call Kathy to tell her that their daughter was here, that she was safe, but how could he leave her there, even just for a moment?

Kathleen lifted her chin to rest on his shoulder. "Can I stay here tonight?"

"Let me call your mother," he said. He rose from the couch. "I'll be right back."

He made his way to the kitchen and grabbed the phone, looking back at Kathleen's slumped body. He had known Kevin was bad news. Why didn't Kathy try to stop it? He sure tried, not that Kathleen listened. How could Kathy have not told him Kathleen was still seeing the bastard?

He stopped himself before he blamed the whole thing on Kathy. It had been his coping mechanism for a while, with their dying marriage. He knew she was wrong to leave without warning and take his kids from him, but he had grown to learn the hard truth: he had to face responsibility, as well. For this, too. Blaming his wife was not going to change anything.

He breathed in deeply and dialed the familiar number. Kathy picked up after a couple of rings. "Hello?"

"Hey, Kath…something's happened…"


	2. Part 2

**Part 2**

Kathleen wasn't sure what time it was when she got out of bed that morning. She thought about getting out of bed for what seemed like two hours before actually doing it. It must have been earlier than she thought, though, because her dad was in his bed. She wondered if he had an easier time sleeping than she had. She couldn't help but wonder what might have happened the previous night, and asking herself how she could have let it get to that point.

Why hadn't she listened to him? The warning signs were all there. Kevin always wanted to know where she was, who she was with, and what she was doing. It wasn't enough to make her worry, but it was always there. And then there was the whole sex thing – the elephant in the room. "How long are you gonna wait?" he always asked. "I don't know if I'm going to wait that long." It wasn't that she didn't want to, and she was very close to deciding that she was ready. But after what happened with Jed, the boy her father asked her about last year, the one who it turned out had HIV, she didn't want to rush into anything. That and the fact that they were seeing each other behind her parents' backs made her uneasy about the whole thing.

She went into the bathroom, to wash up. It wasn't like she was going to get to sleep anymore. The clock in there said it was 7:04. Normally she didn't see the light of day until at least 10 on Saturday mornings.

She started to examine herself in the mirror, to see if she had been crying all night because she wasn't sure. She started to pull her hair back when she noticed the inch-long scar on the top left corner of her forehead. It happened her freshman year at a soccer game. She was the goalie, and as she went to cut off a shooter's angle on a breakaway, the bottom of the girl's cleat sunk into her head. Kathleen still wasn't sure it was an accident.

That was the first of her high school games that her father had made. She had been cut so deep she was nearly unconscious, but her friends all told her how much he freaked when he saw that she wasn't getting up. The next moment she remembered was being in the hospital, and her mom and dad were beside her, holding hands. They looked so shaken up, like they had been crying. Then, in her own bed the next night, she woke up for a minute to see her father looking in on her when he thought that she was asleep. She wondered if he had looked in on her last night.

After she was through with her shower, she found her father in the kitchen pouring some cereal. "Are Dickie and Elizabeth coming over today?" she asked him.

He nodded. "I'm picking them up in a couple of hours."

Kathleen half-smiled, pouring some cereal for herself. The twins were as close as any brother and sister she knew. Still, there was a time when Kathleen was just as close to Elizabeth. Once she started high school, Kathleen started to pull away, but there still wasn't anything she wouldn't do for little sister.

She and her father ate in awkward silence for a few moments. She could tell that he was afraid to bring up what had happened to her; quite frankly, so was she. She wanted to grab something else to talk about.

"What's happening at work?" she asked when she couldn't take it anymore.

Her father just shrugged. "You know, just stuff."

Kathleen raised her eyebrows. She pushed the topic, just so they wouldn't go silent again. "What about your new partner, what was her name?"

"Dani," he said. "Dani Beck."

"Yeah," Kathleen prodded. "Tell me about her." She really didn't know why she was asking. They had only met once, but the woman definitely wasn't on her Christmas list.

"She left."

"Really?" She tried not to sound too happy about it. Her father only nodded. "Was it because she was in love with you?" She didn't look at him when she said this, but her tone was more playful than malicious.

Her dad just laughed at the comment. "She wasn't in love with me," he told her.

Kathleen shrugged. "Whatever you say."

"You didn't like her, either," he surmised.

"I think I prefer Olivia," she said. "She's more emotionally stable."

"And she's not holding my hand in the hospital."

"Exactly." She liked Olivia, even if she resented how much time he spent with her. If she thought she and her dad were in some sort of relationship – like he was with Dani Beck – that like could turn to hate pretty quickly.

"So…" she said, trying to think of something else to talk about. She would rather not think about what her dad did with Dani Beck on the rebound. "How's your caseload?" It was a brave question, she knew, but it was better than nothing.

Much to her dismay, he ignored her inquiry and jumped straight to the point. "How long have you been seeing Kevin after your mom and I told you not to?" he asked. Suddenly ashamed, Kathleen looked down. "I'm not mad at you," he said. "I just want you to be honest with me."

She breathed in deeply. "It's been going on for about a month," she said. "I thought you were overreacting."

"Kathleen…"

"I was stupid," she said. "I didn't see who he really was. I guess I was asking for something like this to happen, or worse."

When she said that, she felt his eyes bear down at her. "Look at me," he said, not angry, but firmly. She was hesitant to look up. "People like Kevin, they make young, vulnerable girls think that they're in love with them. They'll prey on every mistake, no matter how small, these girls make to take advantage of them. These are the people I see everyday – I know Kevin. And this is not your fault."

She bit her lip, unsure of what to say. There were tears in her eyes, again. Maybe she was unaware that she was vulnerable, like he said. But she couldn't talk about what happened – or almost happened – to her anymore. "How's work?" she asked, this time much more quietly.

He leaned back in his chair. "Olivia is back."

She nodded. "That's good."


	3. Part 3

**Part 3**

"How's she doing?"

Elliot relaxed a little. It was late; he had just brought the kids home, and was talking to Kathy out in the front yard. "She's trying to forget," he said. "Distracting herself with conversation, or playing basketball with the twins…whatever she can do."

"She tries to be strong, El," said Kathy. "Older, mature…"

"Now she wants to be strong about this, too," Elliot finished for her. "She isn't. Not enough. She was betrayed in the worst way by someone she thought she was in love with. Who knows when she'll trust people again – her friends, boyfriends, future husband…" He trailed off.

"Can you arrest him?" Kathy asked after a beat.

Elliot sighed. "I could, but the evidence is gone," he said. "The case wouldn't even get past a grand jury, unless he confessed."

"But Kathleen's testimony…"

"Do you really want her to face that bastard at trial?" he asked. "Besides, there's reasonable doubt. Kathleen didn't see what he was putting in her water; for all she knows, it could have been sugar pills."

Kathy shook her head. "But we know it wasn't," she said.

"Doesn't matter," said Elliot. "As long as there is a possibility, he'll walk."

"So there's nothing you can do."

Elliot shook his head. "That isn't what I said." He certainly wasn't planning on doing nothing, anyway. "I'll go talk to him, and convince him to come forward on his own." That was, of course, the nicer way of saying things.

But Kathy knew him well enough to know that he wasn't planning on playing nice. "Elliot, you can't go over there alone," she said.

Elliot raised his eyebrows at her. "Why? You think I might hurt him?"

Kathy just shook her head. "I don't really care what you do to him," she said. "I just don't want anything to happen to you."

He sighed. He didn't need to have this argument right now. He needed to make sure that his daughter was safe, and he couldn't do that unless he talked to Kevin. That was, in his mind, worth the risk of his life and his job.

"I'll be fine," he told her.

Kathy rubbed her temple. "Well, it isn't like if you get hurt you'll even think to tell us, is it?"

Elliot's head shot up. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Her shoulder dropped and she sighed. "You were shot, Elliot. And we didn't even find out until three months after it happened. And then you were in the hospital with a concussion after that dynamite explosion, and we didn't even know for a couple of days. Don Cragen had to call us when you were stabbed, and you told us that he shouldn't have."

He breathed in deeply. The last thing he wanted was a fight. Not when all this was happening, he couldn't take much more. "I wasn't hurt badly," he said.

"You were in the emergency room!"

"Why the hell do you care?" he asked. He hadn't intended to be so harsh, but he had a lot of anger built up and he had to do something to let it out. He was sure that Kathy did, as well. "You left."

Kathy crossed her arms the way she did when she was about to hear or say something she knew wasn't going to be easy. "I've always cared, El," she said calmly. "That's why I wanted to know how you were doing, but you never told me anything."

He shook his head. "Nothing is more important to me than my family," he said.

"Don't you think I know that?" she asked. "I know you would have dropped everything if one of us was in trouble, like right now. Why couldn't let me have a chance to do that for you?"

Elliot looked around for a while. "I could handle it," he said simply.

"Maybe," said Kathy. "You never talked about what was going on at work, even when it was obvious something was bothering you. Why couldn't I help?"

"It wasn't that," he said. "You didn't need to hear about the cases."

"But I did need to hear about you, El," she said.

Elliot stood up, suddenly tired. "I can't believe we're having this conversation," he said. Kathy tried to interrupt, but he went on. "Our daughter was almost raped, and you're trying to tell me what I did or didn't do to cause you to leave."

Kathy reached out to him. "Elliot," she said, touching his shoulder. "Kathleen opened up to you. She trusted you enough to let you know what had happened, because she knew you would do whatever you could to make it right. That's part of being a family, Elliot. All I wanted was for you to show me the same trust."

Her hand was still on his shoulder. He hadn't felt that kind of warmth from her in a while. His eyes met hers. "Are you saying that you don't want this divorce?"

But it wasn't going to be that simple. "What is it that _you_ want, Elliot?"

He remained silent, his answer still stuck in the back of his throat.


	4. Part 4

**Part 4**

Elliot didn't understand why this was happening. He was going to work in a couple of hours, as long as Kathleen didn't need him at home. Kathy had offered to stay home with her, but a part of him wanted so badly to be there, as well. He wondered if he would have been able to protect if Kathy hadn't left. It wasn't his wife's fault, he knew that well enough. He just wanted her to understand why he had to keep this world from them.

It was 5:32. He still wasn't sleeping; he hadn't been all weekend. And he didn't really feel like lying down in an empty apartment until it was time to leave. He was thinking too much. It was time for him to take action.

He was out the door fifteen minutes later.

* * *

Kevin Lennox wasn't getting much rest these days. Finals week was coming up, and he was running out of ways to relax. That's what he had planned to do on Friday night – before Kathleen walked out on him, that is. He couldn't worry about that, though; he had to focus on graduating college. He couldn't be the first person in his family to not get at least a Bachelor's degree.

He hadn't been asleep long when the pounding started. When his eyes opened, he realized he had huge headache. The person at the door did not let up. Whoever it was, he was angry. "Damn it. I'm coming!" he yelled, slipping on a t-shirt and preparing to get the crap beat out of him. He never backed down from a fight.

Unless, of course, it was Kathleen. She had been pretty pissed at him.

When he opened the door, he wasn't that surprised when Kathleen's father stormed in and slammed the door behind him. He knew one thing for sure about Elliot Stabler: the man had a temper.

"What was it?" he asked immediately.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Kevin.

Elliot grabbed the front of Kevin's shirt and slammed him against the wall. He should have known not to play dumb with this guy. "Now, listen, this is going to go a lot easier on you if you just tell me the truth, _now."_

Kevin closed his eyes and relaxed a bit. The man still had him pinned to the wall. "What was it?" he asked again, and this time Kevin felt one hand leave his shirt and grab his neck so hard he could barely breathe.

"Rohyp…rohypnol," he choked out.

Elliot took his hand off of his neck, but he pushed against the wall again, hard. "Can you tell that to a judge?"

"You're crazy – "

Elliot's fist collided with Kevin's face before he could say anymore. Kevin reached for his face, and felt the blood flowing from his nose. "I could do a lot worse to you if you don't agree," he threatened. He let go and backed away, but never took his eyes off of Kevin. "You have until four this afternoon," he said. "And don't even think about fleeing. I _will _find you."

At this point, Kevin knew that he should just let the man leave. He shouldn't push him any farther, because there was no telling what he would do. But, he just couldn't stop himself from having the last word. "And if I tell the cops that you coerced a confession out of me?"

Elliot slowly walked toward him, and his hand went for his belt. "You don't know how close I am," he said. His voice was a deadly whisper, and he made sure that Kevin could see his gun. "You don't know how close I am," he repeated.

Kevin put his arms up in surrender. "Fine, I'll go. I'll go."

Elliot looked at him, as if he didn't know whether or not to believe him. Finally, he headed toward the door. Before he left, he turned around and pointed his index finger at him. "You be there," he said. And then he was gone.

That was when Kevin noticed how heavily he was breathing. His throat hurt, probably because that bastard almost choked him to death. He shook it off. That cop thought he could get what he wanted by threatening him? Kevin wasn't about to let that happen. He'd go ahead and make his confession…it wouldn't send him to prison. It wouldn't even brought to trial once he told his lawyer what happened, and _Detective_ Stabler would be fired, maybe even sentenced to serve some jail time for assault.

He, on the other hand, would be a free man.

* * *

He planned on going to the precinct to turn himself in after his first class. He wondered why Kathleen's dad didn't take him down himself, but he figured that he didn't want to look suspicious. Bringing in a guy with a bloody nose who had tried to slip Rohypnol to his daughter? Something like that would send so many red flags. Coming of his own volition, or at least the appearance of that, would be safer for Stabler.

It was cold that morning. He made sure to put on a leather jacket of his hooded sweatshirt before he went out to his car. He heard the commotion just as he was about to leave. There was a loud knock on the door. "Kevin Lennox!" someone yelled from the other side. "This is the NYPD! We have a warrant to search your apartment. If you do not open the door, we will open it for you."

Kevin immediately pulled the door open, a bit frightened. Had Stabler actually gotten a warrant, just in case he decided not to confess?

But as the group of cops began searching through his belongings, he realized that this had nothing to do with Kathleen. He was in much deeper trouble now. When one cop came out of his bedroom with his open gym bag, he knew he was busted.

The detectives took him outside of his apartment. That's when he felt the cuffs tighten around the wrists, behind his back. "Kevin Lennox, you're under arrest for possession of illegal substances with the intent to sell. You have the right to remain silent…"


	5. Part 5

_Author's Note: This is the second to last part of the story. I know it's short, but it's been fun to write. _**  
**

**Part 5**

Elliot wasn't just having a bad day. Bad days were becoming typical for him; he couldn't remember the last time he had a good day. This was a lot more than that. The only thing that could salvage this day was a gun to the head.

Not his own head. But the dirt bag sitting at the table in the interrogation room, Lawrence Newman, was a pretty good choice. What was the point of letting him survive until his trial in order to be acquitted by another screwed-up jury? At least his way, they were sure to get justice.

"My daughter was murdered by the same bastard who raped her!" he yelled at them.

"Actually, Mr. Newman, the fingerprints on the gun used to kill your daughter did not match Chase Henderson," Olivia explained to him. Elliot stood by the window, arms crossed. "And she wasn't murdered until a week after her rape."

"By that time, Chase Henderson was already dead," Elliot finished. "We know the same gun was used to kill them both. That gun is registered to you, and your fingerprints are all over it." He leaned down at the table, getting in Newman's face. "When he raped your daughter, you had to make him pay."

Olivia continued his theory of the crime. "You thought that would make the whole thing go away, but it didn't."

"You couldn't even face her, could you?" Elliot took over again. "She was defiled. You promised her virginity to another man, and she couldn't deliver. So you killed her."

"No!" Newman protested, then calmed down. "Richard forgave my debt."

That was all that Elliot needed. He grabbed Newman by the shirt collar and slammed him against the wall, making sure that the back of his head hit the hardest. "After you let him have sex with Katy and her twelve-year-old sister!" Elliot knew he was about to lose control, but he wasn't trying to stop himself this time. "How could you pimp out your own children? Huh?"

The man was cornered. There was only one thing he could say. "I want a lawyer!"

He held him up there for a few more seconds, staring him down. He heard the door open. "Elliot," Cragen called him. "Take a break."

He left the room slowly without saying a word. Once the door closed, Cragen started. "We've got him cold."

"Doesn't mean a jury will convict him."

Cragen sighed, and Elliot knew what he was thinking. "Go home," the Captain told him. "Be with your daughter."

He didn't have to tell him twice. The squad room was the last place Elliot wanted to be today. Kathy had told him to come to the house after work, so that he could see Kathleen and they could talk about their marriage. It was starting to get to be too much for him, and if there was one thing he wanted less of in his life at this point, it was his job.

That, and scum like Lawrence Newman. Let him rot in prison.

As he was getting his coat to leave, Olivia approached him. "Kevin Lennox was arrested this morning."

Elliot turned toward her and froze for a second. "For attempted rape?"

"No. Drug charges. Police found cocaine and heroin in his apartment."

He shook his head, smiling. He didn't know whether to be angry or relieved. "Maybe now I can convince Kathleen to get out of the house a little," he said.

He started to leave again, but Olivia stopped him. "You have to let her cope on her own time, El," she said. "Don't push her."

He turned back around. "I'm not going to push her," he said. "I'm just going to tell her the news and let her do with it what she wants."

"She's a good kid," Olivia told him. He didn't need to hear that. He already knew that Kathleen was a good kid. What he wanted to know was if Kathleen was equipped to handle this. He knew Liv was only trying to help, but she knew his kids better than that. He had talked about them enough, and she had met them a number of times.

Elliot didn't argue, though. "I should go see her." He gathered his keys, eager to leave. He wasn't mad at Olivia. He knew she understood how much his family meant to him, but sometimes he wondered if he could understand his life. He sure as hell didn't understand hers. He couldn't imagine life without his family, and he never really got the chance to settle down on his own until after the separation – and even then, it wasn't like he was interested in dating different women. The only woman he found himself interested in that way other than Kathy was Dani, and that wasn't the same.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Liv," he said, and left.


	6. Part 6

**Part 6**

Kathleen was still asleep.

Kathy had checked on her that morning, but didn't bother to wake her up. When Maureen had witnessed the end of a horrible crime, she couldn't' wait to get out of the house the next morning, no matter how traumatized she was. That was Maureen, though. Her oldest daughter was loathe admitting to her friends that something like that got to her. She couldn't hide it from Elliot, though.

But Kathleen was entirely different. She always tried to hide her feelings, but when she couldn't, she withdrew. Kathy didn't know if she would have chosen to go to school that day had she woken her up, but she needed the rest. God knows she wasn't going to be concentrating any had she gone to school.

"This is probably the only time she's felt safe all weekend," Elliot said. They were both looking in her room.

Kathy nodded, and then very quietly closed the door. "I heard Kevin was arrested on drug possession," she said as they walked down the stairs.

"He'll do some time, more than he would for attempted rape," he said.

She took the information in stride. This weekend had made her understand why Elliot never wanted to talk to her about the world he saw. She was already having nightmares that caused her to wonder how safe her children were. Elliot had faced it for years; no wonder he was so protective of them.

They sat down on the couch together. "How do you do it?' she asked. "There's so much evil."

"Because I have to," he said simply. She hated simple answers, but he was prone to them. She was about to say something, but he went on. "Because every perp we put away is one person who won't get the chance to hurt this family."

"Is that all?"

He sighed. "There are other reasons. But that's the main one."

She sat there, unsure of what else to say. He had tried to tell her before, but she never got it. There were times that she thought he did the job to get away from her and the kids. Sometimes she asked herself if he thought that his friendship with Olivia was more important than their family.

"You're still wearing your wedding ring," she observed.

He pointed at her left hand. "You're still wearing yours."

She nodded. Elliot wasn't the first one to notice. Her mother had reminded her everyday since Kathy filed the divorce papers. She never had liked Elliot; she even told Kathy to change her name, as well as the kids'. She couldn't do that. Even if they were no longer legally married, they would still share four children, and a last name. Kathy couldn't let that go.

A long silence came between them. Kathy could tell, by the way he was staring into space, that he had a lot on his mind. A few years ago, he might have never talked about it. Now, she knew that he didn't have a choice.

"I'm responsible," he said finally. "It's my fault."

She immediately jumped in to interject. "What happened to Kathleen – "

"Not Kathleen," he corrected her. "Us. I pushed you away."

Kathy closed her eyes. That was exactly what she'd been telling herself for the past two years, but now that he actually said, she didn't even believe it. He had made mistakes, yes, and sometimes he wasn't around enough. But he wasn't the one who left, and he wasn't the one who said that they were beyond help.

Now, when everything seemed wrong, she could try to make this one thing right. She wasn't going to be responsible for the further destruction of her family.

"We can fix it," she said.

Her words had surprised even her. Elliot looked at her, and she could swear she could see him smile for just a split second – the same smile he had when the kids were born, and when they were married. And then he laughed. It wasn't the hard and cynical laugh that she had heard so many times.

"It would be you to say that," he said. "I've been trying to get to guts to say it ever since you served the papers."

"I was wrong," she said. "About so many things, El. I should have tried harder.

"Maybe if I hadn't left, Kathleen would have listened to us about Kevin."

He turned his entire body toward her. "That isn't your fault. You can't blame yourself for that."

"I feel guilty," she said. "When you told me, I couldn't stop crying after that call. I asked myself how I could let that happen to her."

"You couldn't have done anything," came a voice from the stairs. They both looked over to their daughter. "Hi, Dad."

Kathy stood up and Kathleen hugged her first. She sat down next to her father, who squeezed her shoulders and kissed her forehead. "How are you doing, Sweetheart?" he asked, his arm still around her.

"Better now," she answered. "Are you getting back together?"

The question caught Kathy off-guard. She looked over to him, looking for some confirmation. He nodded to her, urging her to speak. "We've decided…to try," she said, hoping that Elliot wasn't about to correct her on the spot.

Kathleen, who had apparently heard almost their entire conversation, turned to Elliot. "Dad?"

He smiled down at her, and Kathy remembered why she had fallen in love with him in the first place. "Only if you're okay with having your father in the house again," he said.

Kathleen returned the smile. "I've missed you, Dad."

As Kathy watched the two of them, she realized how badly her kids had wanted him there; how much she had wanted him. They had a second chance, and she wasn't about to throw it away again.

"Welcome home."


End file.
